Get Away
by Caa711
Summary: Dolph has a bad past and is hoping to get a lucky break, but what if he gets hurt again? Who will save him and help put his demons to rest? *Slash*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inspiration struck for a story!Sorry to anyone following any of my other stories, the muses for those have gone to sleep but they might come back some time! Don't give up hope!**

**Anyhow, enjoy the story! There will be more chapters to come!**

* * *

It was Jack's laugh that echoed through the bar that caused the massive dorky grin to creep onto Dolph's face, proud that he had been the one to cause it. He would never deny that he loved the other mans laugh. It had been a long time now since they'd been a tag team together, since they no longer worked together, but he was certainly glad that although their on-screen friendship had faltered their real life one was as strong as it had ever been. The guy would have to be his best friend.

It was part of the reason why he was so glad to be sitting in a booth with said man, and a few other friends, having a casual beer after a long night at work. It was a nice way to unwind. He basically didn't even notice the others around him, mainly just seeing Jack and focusing on him, wanting to hear more of that laugh he loved so much. "Geez, just get a room you two." He was snapped out of his almost trance by Miz's voice, and he struggled to keep the blush down from his face, a sense of satisfaction as he managed to do so. Before he could comment, Jack laughed and shook his head. "Oh...he wishes." Jack smirked at Dolph and wiggled his eyebrows at him, causing a smirk to creep onto his own face. "Really? _I _wish that? _You_ wish you could be that lucky." He answered quickly with a laugh and a cocky smile. Jack blinked flirtatiously at him and sighed in dramatic defeat. "You read me so well, Dolphy-wolfy." He just laughed and kicked him from under the table, although part of him wondered if it was true, part of him _wanted_ it to be.

Over the time they'd known each other, Dolph had managed to get quite a large crush on the taller man, although he probably wouldn't admit it. A part of him wondered if Jack felt the same, if he ever would, the guy always flirted back to him after all, he always seemed to express some sort of interest in the bleached blonde, but Dolph had always just figured he was reading too much into things, he didn't even know if the guy swung that way.

A sharp kick knocked him out of his thoughts and he gave a sheepish grin to Miz, the one who had delivered it. But he just got rolled eyes and he knew that no one was mad. He took a long swig of his beer and looked at Jack out of the corner of his eye, still wondering, Jack caught his gaze and smirked at him, a little embarrassed at being caught he blushed faintly and downed the rest of his beer, still hoping like hell there was some chance the other man felt something for him. God knew Dolph needed it.

* * *

He panted slightly, sweat dripping off his body as he walked along the corridor after his match, and he was dead tired, putting all his energy into winning the match, although of course he hadn't. He never did anymore. He lost every damn time. He sighed in frustration and entered the locker room, ignoring everyone in favour of getting dressed and changed and going back to the hotel so he could just wallow in everything he'd done wrong...again. Why the hell couldn't he do this right anymore? He growled and quickly grabbed his towel and got into the shower, turning it on and shoving his trunks off. He rested his head against the wall and just let the hot water run over him, undoing some of the tension in his shoulders. He shut his eyes and managed to zone out for a moment, but quickly a dark room flashed in front of his eyes, fear flaring in his heart and he quickly opened his eyes again, heart beating much faster than it was meant to.

He padded out into the locker room, towel wrapped firmly around his waist, he was still trying to get his heart rate under control and he sighed as he reached his stuff, closing his eyes and trying to stop the shaking in his hands. He resisted the urge to flinch as he felt a hand on his shoulder, freezing, his heart almost stopping for a moment before he relaxed, the familiar feeling of Jack's hand erasing the memory and getting him relaxed again, he cast a shaky smile at him, but was met with a slightly concerned gaze. "You alright, Dolph?" he asked, that concern prominent in his gaze. He stared at him silent for a moment. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just tired, I wanna head back to my room." He managed to speak steadily. The concern didn't drop from his eyes but he removed his hand, although he did give him a small smile. "I'll come with you; we can watch crappy tv and drink some beers." Dolph's instinct told him to say no, because he'd rather be alone to obsess, but he couldn't say no to Jack so he just nodded. "Sure." He gave him another shaky smile and Jack, seemingly pleased with this headed off to take a shower of his own.

Quickly he got dressed, shoving on his normal clothes and sitting down on a bench, waiting for the taller man to reappear and get ready. It didn't take long for him to do just that, walking out from the showers and going over to his stuff to start to get changed. The towel was just loosely hung on the man's hips, his upper body exposed and Dolph swallowed, his mouth going dry, eyes glued to him before he had to tear his gaze away, his pants starting to get a little tight. He played with his phone as he waited, to take his mind off the man. He startled slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder again. Jack looked apologetic but Dolph just laughed it off, standing up and grabbing his bag, following him out to the car park, shivering in the cold night air. Jack, seemingly noting that he was cold, huddled closer to him and he felt something in his chest tighten at the gesture, breaking into a real smile again.

Once they got to Dolph's hotel room they ditched their bags, Jack headed towards the couch and Dolph to the kitchen, grabbing a couple beers from the fridge before returning to Jack, sitting on the other edge of the couch and handing him one of the beers. He cracked his open and took a long drink from it, finding the remote to the tv and changing it to some channel. He didn't really care so he just tossed the remote to the younger man, letting himself zone out slightly and try to relax. After a moment he felt eyes on him and he turned to see Jack with a curious expression on his face. "What?" he warily asked him, and Jack gave a short shrug. "Just wondering...why were you so weird back there?" Dolph mentally winced at the question, not sure how to answer it. "Weird? How?" he asked back smoothly, showing no hesitation, not wanting to draw attention to it. "You were shaking, dude, you had this glassy look. And now you're all distant and stuff." Jack shrugged and looked back at the TV, and Dolph got the feeling he didn't really want to intrude, but he wanted to know his friend was alright. Dolph sighed and opened his mouth to speak, quickly trying to come up with some excuse. When a few minutes passed he still had nothing and he sighed again. "It was nothing, I'm alright. Just tired from my match, I guess." He sighed, knowing that it didn't sound very believable. Jack's eyes went back to him with a frown, but he didn't push it. "Okay, if you say so, but you know that I'll listen, dude, it's what buddies do right?" Dolph flashed him a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I know thanks." Silence fell over them again but it was more comfortable this time, both men just watching the tv and drinking some beer, but having the younger man there meant more than he would possibly let on.

* * *

The flashbacks kept happening, and getting worse and he found himself sleepless most nights, the shaking getting worse and the panic even more so. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was _him_ and all he could hear was _him_ and it was driving him insane. The only moment of peace he got was with Jack, he felt safe with him, it calmed him, but he tried not to let on anything was wrong, he was easy with convincing people by now.

The more he hung out with Jack, especially when he wasn't in such a good way, the more he felt himself drawn to the man, the more he wanted him, and it was the first time he had seriously considered wanting a relationship with someone since _him_. He thought that maybe that was why the flashbacks were getting bad again, it was like his mind knew he was moving on and were giving him a final fight, and he just hoped that they would leave him alone again.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by being kicked once again, this time by Jack. It was just the two of them today, sitting at a booth together, although there were a large number of other Superstars and Divas here, the bar was next to the arena so most of them just sorta gravitated there and Jack and Dolph had chosen to sit by themselves, more because that was what Dolph had wanted, although they were far from alone. Silence bleed between them and Dolph played with his bottle of beer, just thinking. Trying to convince himself to go through with this, to make a move maybe. He knew he wasn't the only gay Superstar, there were a few other couples around, but no one really knew he was gay, he kept it to himself, and it was much better that way.

His eyes flicked to Jack and he downed the rest of his beer, gaining a bit of Dutch courage. "...Hey, Jack...ah, listen, I sorta want to talk to you about something." All Jack's attention was on him by now and he resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably in his seat. His mouth was dry with nerves and his palms were sweating. "Sure thing." Jack replied, and Dolph could hear the curiosity in his voice. "Well...we've become sorta close recently, right?" he waited for a nod from Jack to continue "Ah...well I really like spending time with you, you know? And I was sorta wondering if you'd wanna...I dunno, go on like a date, sometime?" he asked cautiously, blush spreading onto his cheeks.

The silence that met him made the panic that was constantly on his chest grow and start to creep into him. He risked a look to Jack and froze in fear at the look on his face, he was sure he could see the disgust. "A date? What the fuck, man? Are you fucking gay?" that was definitely disgust. Dolph stared at him, fear starting to creep in, he didn't know what to say so he just sat silently as Jack continued. "You're gay! If I knew this I never would've fucking hung out with you, how dare you, you're disgusting, being with another man...that's filthy." The fear snapped in him at being called disgusting and dirty, mind desperately wanting to get away but his body not reacting just sitting frozen there, Jack not there anymore, but instead it was him. Calling him dirty and filthy and disgusting, calling him a whore, but it was Jack's voice, the panic bubbled up and just before it was about to snap he felt a fist connect to his face, startled and not prepared for it he fell off his chair and to the ground, the fear making him shake, embarrassed tears welling in his eyes. How could he be so stupid? Who would want him? Being gay was wrong wasn't it? Just hurt you... The bar was silent by now, everybody hearing Jack yelling, he was standing up now, standing over him still yelling and he just cowered away, tears flowing by now. Scared, he was dead scared. He was still yelling at him, about to hit him again and he felt another punch connect to his face, he whimpered, not even flinching, just taking it and not even thinking about fighting back, it was better to just let it happen. Desperately he tried to make himself smaller, whimpering and cowering, trying to get out of his way. "Sorry." He whimpered pathetically, but that only seemed to anger him more. "You're sorry? You're FUCKING SORRY? All those times I was alone with you, all the jokes that obviously weren't jokes...Jesus, Dolph, I hugged you and everything! What if you spread your gay filth onto me or something?!" Jack went for another punch and Dolph shut his eyes, but he never felt it connect, he opened his eyes and saw someone hold him back, speaking harshly to him, keeping him away, but in his haze he couldn't see who it was, or what they were saying. He was thankful, somewhere deep down, but he couldn't comprehend it right now, someone helping him in a situation like that. He watched through watery eyes as Jack stormed off and his saviour knelt beside him and gently rested their hand on his shoulder, that did it. It sent him over the edge and the panic exploded inside of him and he couldn't breathe, he desperately scrambled away from him, pleading with him not to touch him, to leave him alone, he was sorry, he hadn't meant to upset anyone, hadn't meant to do anything wrong, he was sorry, so sorry, but as he scrambled away they just followed him, being cautious, trying not to startle him, but it was no use, it was _him _and he had to get away. Somehow he found himself at door, eyes still wide in panic, still unable to breathe as the feeling of doom transcended on him, but he managed to get to his feet and run, out the door and just continue to run, needing to get as far away as he could. He had to get away.


	2. Chapter 2

The sunlight beamed through the shitty curtains in the hotel room, the curtains really were shitty, they didn't keep the sun out at all and it was slowly starting to irritate his sensitive eyes. Grumbling he got up and try and get into some place they wouldn't hurt his eyes but he stumbled and fell, a loud curse leaving him as he was left on his now sore butt on the ground. He'd been drinking all night, so it was no wonder why he was struggling to move right. He'd been sitting there since he'd stumbled his way home after his panic attack had finally gotten a little better and had instantly hit the whiskey, curling up in the corner of the room and trying to drown his sorrows, knowing that sleep would only bring the nightmares that would no doubt have been made worse by the nights events. He shuddered, not wanting to remember and curled up even tighter, his attempt at getting up forgotten. He just wanted to stay here forever.

From inside his pocket his phone made a tone, indicating he'd gotten a message. After he'd considered ignoring it for a couple minutes he pulled it out from his pocket, glad to see that it didn't appear damaged, he opened the text and he winced. Jack. All but disowning him, telling him to find another travel partner for today and to leave him alone forever. He groaned, his head pounding too much to be want to be thinking about this right now. But he needed to, they had a show tonight, he needed to get there, his work was important, the most important thing in his life and like hell he was going to miss even one show because he was being pathetic. Learning from his previous mistake, he took a hold of a chair next to him as he got himself to his feet, keeping a tight hold as he swayed and threatened to go back down. He had to think, because he needed to be leaving for the show now. He couldn't go with Jack that much was obvious, he didn't want to take a plane because that would mean waiting around in his thoughts for a few hours, and mostly, he didn't want to travel with anyone else. Half the roster had been at that bar last night, he didn't exactly want to be showing his face anytime soon. That didn't leave him with many options. He could rent his own car, but he doubted they would give it to him seeming as he could smell the alcohol on his own breath. He was stumped. He sighed, he guessed he'd have to take a fucking bus and hope no one recognised him.

He padded over to the bathroom and inspected his face, wincing at the black eye and bruise on his cheek that had already formed overnight, he hated seeing himself like this, he'd only recent grown accustomed to being relatively bruise free again, only getting them from work rather than anything in his personal life, but he figured some things were destined to never change, right? He sighed and abandoned the mirror, quickly getting ready and heading off to the nearest bus station.

When he finally arrived at the arena he was dead tired and feeling even worse than when he had woken up this morning. He entered the building managing to go unnoticed and he snuck around the halls, finding the board to see if he had a match tonight and when it was and he sighed and headed toward the locker room and towards his embarrassment. As soon as he opened the door it went quiet and he looked down, not wanting to meet anyone's face. It felt like everyone was staring at him and when he risked a glance up they were. Desperate he looked for a free space and took the one that was further away from Jack. After a moment people began to talk again, although he could still feel people looking at him and he could hear the hushed whispers about what had happened last night. His hands were shaking too much as he stumbled to even undo his bag and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, deciding to just leave it. His match wasn't for a little bit anyway, he could afford to wait. He sat himself down on the floor, his back against the wall, knees to his chest and shoved his headphones in, loud enough to sooth him a bit, but quiet enough that he could hear his surroundings. He closed his head and rested his head against the wall, willing his body to relax at least a little.

The door opened once again, and like when he had entered the room went quiet, it was that, that made him open his eyes and see what was going on. Hunter. He was searching the room for someone. Hunter frowned when he didn't seem to find them, but then their eyes met and he knew who he was looking for, but he remained where he was, waiting for him to come to him first. A fleeting wave of panic washed over him, what if he was going to lose his job? What if he was in trouble? Hunter approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, Dolph's hands shaking so much he struggled to get his headphones out. "I need to talk to you." Hunter said simply, as if that wasn't obvious, but Dolph nodded and got himself to his feet, following after the larger man obediently, leaving the locker room and walking down to an office, presumably to get away from people who weren't supposed to hear, even though they always did. He was offered a seat and meekly he took it, sitting on the edge and fidgeting with his still trembling hands. He refused to talk first.

Silence crept into the room and Dolph turned his gaze downwards, just waiting. Hunter sighed and relaxed into his own seat, looking at Dolph, staring into him enough that Dolph squirmed uncomfortably. "Some of the guys told me what happened last night." The panic swelled, he was going to be in trouble... "I wanted to talk to you about it." Meekly, and still not looking at him he nodded, implying that he would comply, even if it was a little unwillingly. "Are you wanting to press charges?" he certainly hadn't expected that, his head snapped up a little confused at the thought, he shook his head. "...No, why would I do that?" he asked, his voice much shakier than he would like it to be. Hunter gave him that look again, and it was made even worse since Dolph was looking at him now. "It would be completely understandable if you did, the company would back you 100%, and we're going to suspend Jack for a while, that's intolerable behaviour and we won't have it. If it happens again, with any of the Superstars, staff, anyone, you let me know and there will be action taken, okay?" Dolph stared at him bewildered. "...O-okay, but you really don't have to suspend Jack, it's okay...really." that would just make him feel guilty, even more than he already did. Hunter raised an eyebrow but made no comment on not wanting punishment for Jack. Silence surrounded them for a moment. "Dolph, if you want or need some time off, you're more than welcome to have it, that wouldn't be a problem, we'd all understand it wouldn't be a sign of weakness or any of that crap, if you need time to recover from a physical injury no one questions it, but you need time for mental and emotional health too." Dolph stared at him with an unreadable expression. "I'm not taking time off, and you can't make me, if you give me time off I'm going to come to every single fucking show no matter what you do. I need my job, I love my job, I'm not taking time off." Hunter just nodded and accepted his words, throwing his hands up defensively. "Okay, that's fine, no one's forcing you to take time off, but it's there if you ever want it, alright?" Dolph looked at him and gave a tense nod, relaxing a little to know that at least he still had his job and no one was forcing him away. Hunters gaze locked onto his, and he felt uncomfortable but couldn't look away. "One more thing. Are you alright?" the question threw him off and he had to think on how to answer for a second. "I...I will be." He nodded, content with his answer even though he was fairly sure it wasn't true. Hunter inspected him for a few more moments before giving a tense nod. "Okay, but if you ever aren't, you know where to find me, the same goes for if anyone bothers you." He waited for Dolph to nod reluctantly. "Okay, you can go...oh, and also, I know you're not taking time off, but I've taken you off the show tonight." At the look of panic on Dolph's face, Hunter sighed "Don't worry, it's only for tonight, I'm not taking you off other shows." Dolph nodded and quickly said thank you before slinking off back to the locker room where he would have to figure out what to do for the rest of the night and not to mention finding a ride.

There were a considerably less amount of people in there when he went in again, and he almost sighed in relief. Almost. If Jack hadn't been standing next to the person next to his spot. And Jack was glaring at him. The panic threatened him again as he approached, carefully sitting down, resuming his position from before and hoping the man would leave him alone. It had been terrible enough the first time. He sighed in relief when he moved away, being called off to go get ready and he let himself relax a little more. "What did H want?" Miz's voice next to him sounded, and he looked at him and gave a shrug, not even having realised he'd been next to where his friend was. "Nothing much. Telling me I've been taken off the show tonight...not much else." He refrained from telling the whole truth, not really wanting to talk about it. Miz nodded and gave him a pitied look he thought he wouldn't see. "Sucks man." Dolph nodded to the comment and watched the man obviously struggled for words and what to say. Saving him the pain Dolph stood up, "Well...I'm going to find catering, see you later." Miz looked relieved and Dolph missed his parting words as he entered the hallway again.

It wasn't hard to find catering. Once he did he found a seat and curled himself up on it, knees up to his chest and all but hiding from the world. The room bustled about around him but for the first time today left him alone to his own thoughts, not paying him too much attention. But it was soon broken when he felt a tap to his shoulder, making him jump out of his skin in fright, eyes frantically looking at whoever had touched him. A slightly concerned pair of hazel eyes met his. "Geez, Blondie, I'm not _that_ terrifying." A smirk flashed at him and he just stared at the man in front of him, blinking and then turning away again. "Look...I'm sorry for scaring you last night, had no idea you were going to freak out on me like that, okay?" he turned back to look at him, confusion clouding his face before he suddenly understood. He'd been the one to get Jack away from him. "Wasn't your fault...should be thanking you...so...thanks." he muttered. "Still feel guilty though, and hey it's no problem." Dolph laughed, a sad half mocking sort of laugh. "The mighty CM Punk feeling guilty about something? Stop the fucking press!" he snorted and made a move to find somewhere else to go but the hand on his shoulder tightened and kept him in place. He was expecting anger and possibly a punch to the face, so he shut his eyes, only to reopen them a moment later when nothing happened and was greeted with concerned eyes. "You don't have anyone to travel with. I overheard Jack talking...my bus has plenty of room for you, join me?" and for another time that day, Dolph was surprised at an offer, he desperately tried to come up with excuses not to, he was sure the other man would try to pick him out on his behaviour last night, but he didn't have any other option. He needed a ride, and having one offered up to him from a person he found at least a little tolerable shouldn't be turned down. _Beggars can't be choosers. _He nodded at him warily. "...Okay." He sighed and Punk gave him a small smile. "Good, and don't worry, I'm not going to molest you in your sleep." Dolph froze, tensing up, he knew it was a joke, but that hit too close to home right now. "That's not funny." He spoke flatly and Punk seemed to realise it was the complete wrong thing to say and raised his hands up defensively. "I meant no harm, trying to joke, lighten the mood." Dolph stared at him a moment before nodding, looking away. Punk patted him on the back and gave him another smile. "I'll see you at my bus after the show, Blondie, you better be there! I have to go get ready." Punk didn't seem to want to leave, but Dolph just nodded at him and put his headphones back in, shutting out the world until he would have to resurface his head for the person who saved him the night before.


	3. Chapter 3

He paced anxiously at the door to the other mans bus, waiting for him to arrive and wondering what on earth had led him to believing this idea would be okay. After five minutes he was starting to believe that he wasn't going to show up, even though this was his bus, or that he regretted his decision, but just as he was about to give up, the familiar tattooed man approached, giving him a small smile and walking straight onto the bus and just expecting him to follow. And he did, following him onto the bus and watching as Punk wondered around the familiar territory, having never been in one of the buses before he hesitated in the doorway before taking a seat on what looked like a sort of couch. Punk turned to look at him. "I didn't think you'd turn up, Blondie." It was a blunt statement and he didn't even think he thought he's get a response. "But I did, don't exactly have many options right now." His voice was flat and Punk frowned and joined him on the couch, although he kept a distance, probably wary of making him freak out again. "I'm glad. You shouldn't have to take the bus again...well the public bus." His eyes bored into him and Dolph didn't manage to keep the blush down, not actually very surprised that Punk knew that. Dolph shrugged. "Mans gotta do what a man's gotta do." He dropped it and fiddled with the bottom of his shirt, anxious in the following moments of silence as Punk watched him curiously. Then the bus started up and it startled both of them and Punk got up and wondered into a more closed off area that he presumed was the bedroom area to ditch his bag he thought. He reappeared a moment later and took a seat on the other side of the bus, but still close enough for talking. And for a while they travelled in silence.

"You can have the bed if you want." Punk's voice startled him from his thought and he looked at the straight edge superstar, shaking his head, he couldn't and wouldn't do that. "No, it's alright." Punk nodded and looked at him a moment. "I'm sorry about the comment earlier, really, I have a terrible sense of humour...I need to work on being more sensitive." Dolph didn't answer and instead turned his attention back out the window, watching as the landscape passed by. "Really, Dolph, I-" Dolph cut him off. "It's fine." He just wanted this conversation gone, didn't want to think about it. He could feel a question burning to be asked by Punk, but he just looked out the window again. "You alright there, buddy?" he asked, his question being ignored for the time being. Dolph shrugged. "Fine, I'm fine, completely dandy. Peachy, on top of the world..." he could feel Punk rolling his eyes. "Sarcasm suits me better, Blondie. What's up?" Dolph looked at him and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sarcasm can suit me just as well. And what makes you think I wanna talk to you?" he snapped at him but instantly regretting it, not really wanting to piss him off, but much unlike the Punk everyone knew and loved he just took it and shrugged, not letting himself get insulted and angry. "Well you're on my bus right now, if you really didn't want to talk then you would've found another form of transport, but if you don't want to talk about it then fine. By the way, you should probably stop your hands from shaking; some people will look at you weird if they see it." He looked down at his hands and they indeed were shaking, he hadn't even noticed. He struggled to stop them and instead just let them shake, whatevs. "They can shake if they want." He mumbled, looking down at the ground, avoiding his gaze. Punk left it for a little while, looking around and letting Dolph think that he'd dropped it. "How long have you had anxiety?" the question startled him and he stared at Punk with an open mouth, dumbfounded on what to say. "I don't." He said cagily, refusing to look at him, although he honestly didn't think he did. "Oh, not having anxiety explains the anxiety attack last night then." Dolph stiffened. "That was nothing." He tried to brush the topic off, the mere thought of it making his palms sweaty and the shaking get worse. "You have them often?" he asked, clearly not going along with Dolph. Defeated he shrugged. "Sometimes. Usually when I'm alone at night." He tried to speak like it didn't bother him when in reality they did, they scared him, he couldn't control them and they usually brought memories of _him_. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you should probably get the checked out, it can't be good for your health." He sounded concerned again and he was still puzzled as to why, it just didn't make sense to him, why the hell would Punk care if he was alright or not, why would he care about those stupid fucking anxiety attacks? He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He mumbled, still trying to brush him off. "Seriously, Dolph, go see a doctor or something, they'd be able to help. Why be so against that idea?" he frowned and he could tell the other man wanted to reach out somehow, try get him to see reason, but Dolph shook his head and kept staring out the windows. "Because they'll ask questions I don't want to answer, just like you, so drop it. Please." Punk narrowed his eyes but then just left it, turning on the tv and flicking to some channel, but Dolph payed no attention.

Night rolled around pretty quickly and Punk gave him one last concerned look and headed to his bed, and Dolph, having no desire to sleep, stayed where he was, although he was fairly certain he'd be sleeping on this couch anyway. He was reluctant to sleep, but being all alone with his thoughts without alcohol was starting to take its toll too. He closed his eyes but all he saw were those laughing eyes and that smirk, the smell of booze and cigarettes, the smell of his own fear...and his eyes would snap back open, breathing too fast. By the time the sun started to raise he was sleepless yet again and scared out of his mind, he startled when Punk rejoined him, sitting on the other end of the couch, looking all sleep ruffled...or in his case tossing and turning ruffled. Punk gave him a once over and moved over, closer to him to make sure Dolph looked at him. "Calm down, Blondie. Everything's fine." He reached out to give him a reassuring touch, but then thought better; watching as Dolph slowly became a little less tense. "Good sleep?" Punk asked, wanting to start casual conversation and Dolph gave a strangled sort of sound that he thought was meant to be a laugh. "What's sleep?" He shook his head and unstretched his limbs slowly, standing up and getting a small dizzy spell, Punk reached out to help him and he gave him a grateful look. "You?" he asked as he started to properly stretch his muscles out. "Got a couple hours. So it was good." Dolph nodded at him and continued his stretching, guilt setting in that he hadn't had a work out in a few days. "How far still to go?" he asked, wondering how long he'd have to sit around in this bus. Punk shrugged at him, idly watching him. "Dunno, still a while. Why're you stretching and shit? Just relax." He blinked and shrugged at him "I'm stiff, been sitting in the same position for ages, and haven't worked out for a while so...I'm stretching, is that a problem?" Punk idly shrugged and the look he was giving him started to make him mildly uncomfortable. He got uncomfortable enough to sit back down and curl up, hide himself a little. He glared accusingly at the other man. "Why were you staring at me? Makes me uncomfortable." Punk shrugged and flashed him a rather large grin. "Well, you are pretty attractive, Blondie, no issue with looking at you is there? You're the one parading yourself around." Dolph froze and held himself tighter, curling up to make him smaller. The slight fear must have shown on his face and Punk gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, sorry. Won't look at you like that, not gonna hurt you or anything, Blondie. Geez. Calm down." He wasn't quite sure he believed him, and he stayed how he was, he shouldn't trust him, shouldn't trust anyone. A growl rumbled in his throat when he saw Punk reach out to him, suddenly feeling like a caged animal. Feeling his hostility he backed off, leaving Dolph alone and heading back to the bedroom area, leaving him alone with his thoughts for the rest of the trip.

When they arrived at the arena he almost jumped off the bus before it had completely rolled to a stop, this had been...uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable. He was glad it was over. He was thankful, yes, but that had been too much. He'd have to find some other mode of transport, he didn't want to travel with him again, he didn't want to burden him or...anytime. Too dangerous anyway.

Once he'd ditched his bag in the locker room he decided he'd just wonder the halls, he didn't have a match tonight, but he knew it wasn't because of any alterations, he just wasn't needed at the moment and he was strangely okay with that. Usually that would put him into a huff, complaining about how the company wasn't using him right, but he was alright with it tonight, happy to be moving around aimlessly. He avoided everyone, if he ever heard someone coming he'd turn down another corridor so he wouldn't have to talk or endure the stares, the questions the silently burned from their tongues. It was nice to have some time to just aimlessly do something, although his thoughts were starting to get dangerous again, hands still shaking, but it was much better than it had been. He put his headphones in and smiled faintly as he continued to walk, his head zoning out listening to Britney. He was knocked to the ground as he turned a corner and accidentally walked into a hard body, landing on his ass and ready to snap loudly at whoever had accidentally knocked him down but it got caught in his throat as he saw who it was exactly. Jack. Both remained where they were, staring at each other, both of them feeling awkward and not knowing what to do. They both opened their mouths to speak at the same time so they both shut up and just as Dolph was going to talk again he heard footsteps coming down the hallway and a hand rest on his shoulder. He glanced up to see who it was and wasn't surprised to see Punk, although the expression on his face did a little, he looked murderous and steely, harsh and obviously not in the mood to be fucked with. Jack scowled back, his gaze turning back to Dolph, he looked like he wanted to say something to him, but Punk being there prevented him. "Watch it next time!" Jack snapped at him, bristling and then hurrying away, Punk's cold gaze following him, making sure he went away. Punk's gaze softened a little and he stepped back, offering him a hand to help him up, cautiously he took it and got to his feet. "He push you?" Dolph quickly shook his head. "No, we bumped into each other, didn't push me." Punk studied his face, checking to make sure he wasn't lying. Punk seemed satisfied that he was telling the truth and let himself relax. "Just...stick with me, okay? No one will mess with you or even look at you wrong." Punk offered him another smile. Dolph scowled at him "I'm not a fucking puppy; I don't have to do what you want me to." Punk scoffed and rolled his eyes, his eyes blazing for a second. "I know you're not a fucking puppy, Blondie, puppies behave better. I just want to help, make sure you're alright. You worry me. Don't want anything happening to you." Hearing this Dolph instantly felt bad for snapping, giving him an apologetic look. "...Okay, sorry, I...I actually think I'd appreciate that." He mumbled, looking away from the man. Punk nodded and smiled at him again. "Cool, promise I'll try not to bug you with questions too much." Dolph nodded and followed him as he started to walk away. He still wasn't completely sure about it, after all, earlier on he'd been eager to get away from him and now he was happily following after him, agreeing to spend most of his time with him. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it was worth a shot.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: Not sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out, but whatever. Thank you to everyone that's left reviews! :3:3)**

A couple weeks passed and an uneasy alliance formed. Dolph trailed around after Punk, kept him company, because apparently he was more tolerable than most people, at least when Dolph was acting normally, because apparently Punk actually missed the company of other human beings sometimes. Dolph felt bad though, because Punk did so much more for him. He looked out for him, stopped the looks and the whisperings, he kept him company, kept the thoughts away, helped with the anxiety and the fear, his shaking hands weren't shaking so much anymore, he wasn't as afraid, felt safer again, like he had started to feel around Jack before he'd gone and screwed it all up. The only thing that really bothered him was the strict no alcohol policy on the bus. He missed it, he missed the comfort in the night, he didn't sleep and the thoughts and fears got worse then, it was hard, and Punk was in his own space during this time. It was hard...but he could deal, he'd dealt with it on his own for a while now, he knew how to handle it. He didn't want to pester Punk more than he already did.

He opened his eyes and stared at the scowling Punk above him, his eyes were sore and he could still feel the bus moving underneath them. Punk looked angry and for a moment Dolph couldn't figure out why. Then his head throbbed and he remembered. He sheepishly grinned up at the angry man, but was met with the angry glare. "You drank on my bus, Dolph." He winced at the tone, knowing that he'd messed up pretty bad. "...Sorry, I just...needed a drink last night." He grumbled at him, but Punk just shook his head. "Not good enough, drinking doesn't solve your problems and it sure as hell isn't allowed on _my_ fucking bus, even if you needed it." He growled at him softly and Dolph couldn't help but to cower slightly. "I'm sorry, Punk." He blinked at him, wanting him to back off a little bit, but of course it didn't work, he just got closer into his space, narrowing his eyes at him even more. "You're lucky I'm not kicking you off this bus, dumb shit!" he snapped at him, Dolph flinching away, eyes shutting closed and pressing himself down and away from the other man. "I-I'm sorry, won't happen again, please...I'm sorry." His heart was thundering in his chest, reminding him of all the times he'd done something wrong, anything wrong, and the fear that went along with it. He was almost scared of what Punk was going to do, even if in the back of his mind he knew he would never actually hurt him. The fear must have been obvious and Punk backed off a little, allowing Dolph to open his frightened eyes, try to calm his heart but it wasn't working so well. He was far in a different place by now, a different time. He cowered even more and gave a whimper, shit, he really shouldn't have drunk last night, he really shouldn't have done that. Disobeying orders was bad, he should know better. He was basically frozen looking up at Punk fearfully, waiting for whatever punishment he saw fit, ready to just take it, he'd done something wrong after all, been bad, and when you're bad you get punished so you don't do it again, he wouldn't learn otherwise. As he continued to stare he saw Punk's anger quickly melt into confusion. "At least fucking tell me next time, okay?" he snapped, the anger trying to stay in his voice, trying to make it override the sudden concern. Dolph shakily nodded, being unresponsive was bad. He watched Punk storm away, shaking in fear as he waited for him to come back, for more to be done. He remained where he was, cowered away in the corner of the couch that had become his bed, trying to be as small as he could. He waited, and he waited, shaking, not daring to move.

He was still like that when Punk came back into the room, wanting to grab a snack from the small kitchen area that was near where Dolph's couch was. Punk frowned as he looked over at Dolph, confused as to why the man hadn't moved from where he had left him, a little uneased by the fearful eyes that were following his every move. "The fuck's your problem, Blondie?" Punk snapped at him, Dolph flinching even further away if that was even possible. "I'm w-waiting to see what you're going to do..." he trailed off weakly. "About the drinking on my bus thing?" Punk raised an eyebrow, and Dolph warily nodded. "We'll talk about it later, when we can actually get off the bus if we need to cool off or some shit, not doing anything about it right now." The older man said calmly, taking a seat and nibbling on an apple. Dolph refused to relax though, remaining as he was, almost not believing him, he'd been tricked into relaxing like that so many times and had it thrown in his face. "Relax, Dolph! Jesus!" Punk got up and sat on part of the couch, reaching over to ruffle his hair slightly, something that had become something they had both done to each other often, but Dolph jerked his head away, turning to look out the window and away from Punk. Distancing himself.

Punk left him alone after that, to his surprise. They were on a long journey, a couple days on the road, he wished this trip was one of the shorter ones, it was taking a toll on him, being so tense and alert constantly. Night time brought more fear; night time was when the worse things happened, the really bad things. He felt his eyes slip closed, and by some miracle he felt his mind drift into sleep, his tension following him into the dreaming world.

_Dolph whimpered cowering into the bed, trying to press himself further into the mattress, wanting to disappear, to fuse with it. He didn't want to be there. He tried to move his arms but he found that he couldn't, frantically his eyes looked to them and found that they were bound, of course. He wasn't allowed to move. Punishment. He'd done something wrong again. He shook gently as he waited, the fear of what was going to come growing the longer he remained where he was. He didn't even know how long he'd been there, and he could barely remember why either, all he knew was that it would have been for a good reason, he'd done something wrong and needed to be punished for it, he couldn't get away with it. Had to be taught a lesson. Had to follow his rules. He should know better by now, he'd known the rules for a long time, shouldn't be breaking them anymore, he was bad, why he stayed with him was a mystery when all he did was break his simple rules. He sniffed loudly, feeling the tears start already. He heard a snicker and his eyes were drawn to the sound, seeing him standing on one of the edges of the room, just watching him. Dolph watched with wide scared eyes as the man walked closer, a hand softly trailing down his face, cradling it like it was fragile, something that would break if he wasn't careful. He had to shut his eyes; he knew the touches were deceiving, that it was meant to fool him, to mess with his head. The hand on his face tightened its hold, holding his jaw tight and hard enough to hurt and to bruise. "Open your eyes, whore, you need to see your punishment, no tuning out on me, got it?" he whimpered in reply and opened his eyes, knowing better than to disobey. He felt a sharp sting as his hand connected with his face..._

The pain and the impact in his dream woke him up and he was shaking, eyes frantically scanning the room, it was still dark out the window and they were still on the move, a thought that somehow scared him more. He couldn't escape. He was trapped. Still in a half dream state he sprung to his feet, frantically searching for a place to hide, anywhere, he had to get away. The fear was swelling inside him and panic growing stronger, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to go. Trapped. He scrambled desperately, on his hands and knees now, searching for anything that could help him, breathing becoming increasingly difficult as his chest grew tighter and tighter. Shit, _he_ was chocking him, he could feel a hand on his neck and the panic grew, but as he looked around he saw it was just his own, desperately clawing trying to get air into his lungs. Had to get away, had to get away. He was struggling to move, and realised he was being held back, someone was holding him where he was. Did they not understand? He had to get away, he struggled against them but it was weak. "Shh, shh, Dolph, calm down, everything's okay, everything's alright. Calm down." He could feel soft gentle hands moving through his hair in effort to help sooth him and bring him back to reality. The words kept being repeated and slowly he felt his body start to relax, the tremors still coursing through his body but no longer as violent. Safe. He was safe. Was he safe? Punk, Punk had him. He wouldn't hurt him, would he? He could protect him from _him_. That thought made him desperately try to get closer to the other man, trying to almost fuse himself into him. He needed the protection. Sensing the desperation, Punk wrapped his arms more firmly around him, hiding him away from the rest of the world and keeping him close to him, still muttering quiet comforts. Trying to calm the man down, even if he wasn't sure what it was he needed. Any lingering anger from earlier completely erased by the concern and the strange twinge in his heart as he held the now sobbing man in his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

"Take the night off, please." Punk's pleading voice managed to merge slightly with the bustle of the arena outside of Punk's locker room, and Dolph half tuned it out, as he'd tuned out almost anything the other man had said to him since he'd woken up in the other mans arms. He didn't want to hear it so he simply didn't. "Hunter wouldn't mind, you know that. I don't think the pressure of working tonight is going to help you. Please, Dolph." Dolph just continued to get ready, putting on his wrestling boots and making sure everything was in order. His match wasn't for a little while, but it was soon enough that he felt he needed to get ready now. He didn't notice when Punk slipped from the room, but when he did he was a little glad, he needed some space and the constant nagging, even though it was with the best of intentions, wasn't helping him. Especially since Punk was trying to convince him to not work, he needed to work, it was what he loved, it was his everything right now, the only real thing that didn't hurt him or bring up painful memories, he needed it. It kept him sane with something real to think about, to worry about. He certainly didn't appreciate Punk trying to meddle with that, even though he knew it was just him trying to help him, which was why he chose to tune it out rather than reply; he knew that he would snap at him and right now he didn't want that, so leaving him to his own devices was the best option. Not to mention the fact that he was still waiting for Punk to punish him for disobeying his rules. He knew it was coming sometime, and who knew how he would go about it, who knew what screwed up thing Punk would do, because no doubt it would be different to what he was used to...if Punk even was going to punish him...he wasn't really hugely sure for the moment. He knew he deserved it, but Punk was weird. Sighing he just got to his feet and ambled over to where he would have to wait to go out and do his thing, anxiously hopping from foot to foot. His opponent, who by now was waiting there with him, threw him an odd look. Frowning he turned to ask them about it but was interrupted as Justin Gabriel approached them, a puzzled look that mirrored his own on his face. An awkward silence flowed between them and Dolph continued his anxious shifting, although it was for a different reason now. "I thought you were taken out of the match...?" Justin asked slowly, confused, and it took a second for Dolph to register. "...Taken off the match..." he said trying to wrap his head around it, and his confused look quickly morphed into a scowl. He was taken out of the match. Wrestling was being taken away from him; he'd done something wrong again, hadn't he? He angrily pushed past Justin, leaving him to take over _his _match.

He ignored everyone, not bothering to get changed out of his ring gear he barged through into Hunter's office, not caring if he was interrupting anything. "Why the fuck have I been taken off the card for tonight?!" he snapped at him, eyes glaring at him accusingly. Silence consumed the room and yet again he found himself having created an awkward silence. His eyes didn't leave Hunter as he waited for his explanation and he could feel his hands start to tremble slightly, he fought to control them, not wanting to give any further reason why he shouldn't be working. "Because, Blondie, I asked him to take you off on your behalf." Punk's voice startled him, not having noticed him there, been too trained on Hunter. He took a deep breath and struggled to calm his rapidly raising anger, not wanting to say something, to lash out again, god knew he'd done that often enough. "I was worried, Dolph. Really. I just didn't want you going out there and pushing yourself too much, having something happen, making shit worse, you know? Looking out for you." That deflated him a bit, the anger vanishing and leaving behind a rapidly growing empty feeling. "Whatever." He muttered and decided that he'd had enough of this conversation by now; it was too much right now. He was about to leave but was commanded by Hunter to sit down, so reluctantly he took a seat, sinking into it and looking anywhere but at the two men staring at him. "Punk and I have been talking-" Dolph scoffed, interrupting him "clearly." He spoke bitterly, but the bite was gone and he fell silent to let him continue. Hunter gave him an unimpressed look and waited to make sure he'd gotten that out of his system. "Like I said, before being interrupted, we've been talking and from what Punk's told me, I think I might have to force some time off onto you. I'm not letting you back into the ring until you've been checked out by a doctor or someone else qualified for this type of thing. I don't want you working until we're sure you're alright, I know it's not what you wanted, but I think, and Punk thinks, that it's necessary. We don't want you to run yourself down and somehow end up worse." Dolph just stared at the ground, feeling angry tears start to build in his eyes. He tried to force them down, but he couldn't help the panic that made his hands start to shake. He didn't want this, he didn't need this. He needed to work. He didn't want to be left at home with his thoughts, with no distraction, no wrestling, nothing...Not until he got checked out, which was not going to happen, and they all knew that... He shook his head, not really trusting himself to speak. Wrestling had been what had kept him going for so long, to have it just taken away... "Whatever. Just...whatever." he muttered, shifting a little uncomfortably, wanting to leave now. "You'll still get to travel and shit with me, Dolph. Just...time out of the ring and stuff, it'll be good for you." Punk sounded almost desperate to make sure he'd made the right choice and Dolph just shrugged, "like I said; whatever." He muttered. "Are we done here?" Hunter looked hesitant and he nodded, indicating that they were, even though there were things he clearly still wanted to stay. But he didn't care. He took this as an opportunity to leave and did just that. He slipped from the room, ignoring a call from Punk saying to wait and just headed to the locker room.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there by now. Just sitting on a bench in Punk's (and his) locker room, still in his gear with his head in his hands, defeated. Totally defeated. Wrestling was being taken from him. Everything was gone. He took a deep breath and willed himself not to cry. Crying was bad and he didn't want to do it. But he couldn't will himself to move, to face the world, it was all too hard. He didn't know what he was going to do now. He didn't know what he _could _do. He let out a shuddering breath and fought to control his emotions. "Blondie?"He heard Punk speak softly, he hadn't even realised the door had opened. He didn't bother responding, didn't see the point. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and that caused him to break free of his heads and glance up at the other man, feeling guilt swarm him at the look of concern he was receiving. After a few moments of neither of them doing anything Punk sighed "Dolph..." he started but then thought better of it. "Get dressed, let's head back to the bus, come on." Punk gently nudged him to get up and followed the order, slowly getting out of his ring gear and back into casual clothes, once he had, Punk gently guided him back to the bus where he promptly curled up on his couch, staring out the window blankly, staring at nothing. Punk was staring at him, he could feel it. "You know why I talked to Hunter, right?" Punk asked, frowning over at Dolph, who sat there unresponsive and still staring out the window. "I did it because I care, you know that, right? Just want to make sure you stay okay." Dolph still didn't reply. The view from his position obviously much more interesting, able to hold his attention for longer. "Please, Dolph...talk to me, I just...those panic attacks are scary, and that's from me, they must be like a thousand times worse for you, don't you want to get rid of them? Learn how to deal with them and everything?" he was sounding a bit desperate now, fairly certain he'd just made a huge mistake. "What do you want me to say, Punk? That I'm okay with you taking away the_ one_ fucking thing I could always count on, the thing that kept me fucking sane? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you that you did the right thing, because you didn't. And I'm not even mad or angry, how could I be? You thought you were doing the right thing..." he trailed off, shaking his head, eyes still glued out the window, even though the bus hadn't even started to move yet. He caught Punk's reflection in the window and felt a prick of guilt at the look on the others face, Punk looked plenty guilty and he felt bad. He should've kept his mouth shut. "I'm so sorry, Dolph...I just..." he trailed off and Dolph turned his gaze to him. "Wanted to help." Dolph finished for him, nodding, he did understand. He did appreciate the gesture somewhere deep down. Punk's face lit up with an idea, some of the guilt washing away. "We could train together! I mean...it's not the shows or anything, but it's something, right?" Punk looked eager to make things right...or at least a little better and Dolph warily nodded. "Guess so." He sighed, it didn't make up for it, but he guessed it was worth seeing the small amount of relief creep onto Punk's face.

Punk, seemingly still trying to make amends, decided to cook some dinner for them both, some vegan stuff, but Dolph had to admit that it looked and smelled pretty good. Punk smiled at him and handed him his plate, looking at him waiting for approval, after a hesitant look at the food and at Punk he took a bite, nodding approvingly. "It's good." He complimented. Punk looked satisfied with that and took his own seat, digging into the food like it was the last meal he'd ever have. Dolph ate his more slowly, savouring it seeming as he didn't eat shit like this often. He had meant it when he said it tasted good. Sure he preferred a good burger, but this was still pretty up there. He couldn't eat it all though, not wanting to eat too much. Punk watched him, a curious expression on his face. "What?" Dolph asked warily, shifting a little uncomfortably in his seat, eyes flicking down to the floor. Punk shrugged at him, brushing it off. "Nothing, don't worry." Dolph looked back at him, frowning slightly, clearly not buying that as an answer. "It's just weird, never thought I'd have Dolph Ziggler eating vegan food with me on my bus, just a little strange, but good." He grinned at him and Dolph shrugged slightly. "Life likes to surprise you like that, usually before ripping shit away from you, leaving you crumbled and broken, builds you up to tear you down." He spoke causally, lightly, like what he was saying was nothing. Punk was a little taken aback at the words, not expecting that from Dolph's mouth. But it served as a reminded that even in these peaceful moments, the side to Dolph Punk guessed no one ever really saw was still lurking there, waiting to surface with these casual comments. Punk felt a stab of guilt, he guessed those types of thoughts wouldn't have been made any better by him ruining what had been the constant in the other man's life. But that thought and those feelings just made him more determined. He would make sure to become another constant.


	6. Chapter 6

"Some of the guys are heading out tonight, come with?" Dolph shrugged nonchalantly, he didn't really feel like going out, not at all really. "Please, it'll be fun, really." Punk asked him, looking at him hopefully, he knew Punk wanted to go out, he'd been stuck on babysitting him duty and hadn't been able to hang out with his other friends, and this was a good opportunity to catch up, but Dolph knew Punk didn't want to leave him alone. Dolph gave him a look and sighed, defeated. Not having the will to argue. "Whatever..." Dolph grumbled, earning him a shaky smile from Punk. "You're gonna have to get dressed then, think you can handle that?" he asked with a faint smile. Dolph looked at himself and sighed, a little in defeat. "Yeah." He said blankly, getting to his feet and wondering over to his bag to get changed. He was pretty sure he could handle that.

It was in no time that they were in the bar, sitting at a booth with a few other superstars. He still didn't really want to be there. It was making him a bit bitter. These guys could still go out and perform, do what they loved while he was stuck doing nothing, not able to do anything. He downed the rest of his glass of whiskey and crossed his arms over his chest, staring off into the distance, trying to ignore the group of men that he didn't like. Punk gave him a soft nudge, drawing his attention to him. "You okay there, Blondie?" he asked concerned, probably thinking that all of this would help him, this socialising. "I'm fine." He spoke quietly, and there was a slight slur in his words due to the amount of alcohol he'd consumed already. "You've barely said a word the whole night! I'm surprised from you, Ziggler! I thought you would've been all...talky and stuff!" Cena said looking at him with a fairly happy expression on his face, he was obviously as drunk as he was and his words, although intended to be friendly, earned him a glare from Dolph. "Well, maybe that's because I don't want to be all talky with you." He snorted, rolling his eyes. Cena pouted at him although he could tell it wasn't real. "Come on! Open up a little, none of us here bite! Much." He chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows, causing Dolph to scowl even further at him. "Yeah! Come on, we know like nothing about you, dude and you know like everything about us." Orton joined in on the pestering. He _really_ didn't like these guys. "Like no one even really suspected that you're gay. Is that a recent thing or what? You just wake up one day and decided you like dudes?" Dolph stiffened; this wasn't a conversation he wanted to be having. "No." he replied curtly, flagging down a waiter for another drink. "So you've known for ages? Ever been in a relationship, surely you've got some stories, open up some more!" Cena grinned happily at him, obviously unaware of his discomfort. He held his hands under the table, not wanting the shaking in his hands to be obvious. He had to stay calm. "Maybe I don't want to open up to you, Cena. It's no secret that I don't exactly like you." He snapped taking another drink as it arrived. Cena just laughed it off, which somehow irritated him even more. "Come on! You don't even know me! Still pining over someone? Is that why you're all snappy all the time?" Dolph was ready to wipe that stupid grin off his damn face. "Mind your own fucking business!" Cena just laughed, shaking his head. "That confirms it, man. You totally miss your ex." A bitter laugh left him before he had time to think about it, to stop it. "You can't make assumptions like that, you don't even know me." Punk seemed to look even more uncomfortable than Dolph felt, clearly not liking watching this confrontation, or whatever it was. Cena just laughed at him, reaching over to slap his back in a friendly way, making Dolph hiss at him, although it went unseen by the other man. He took another long drink from his glass of whiskey, figuring that being drunk would make being with these people a little more tolerable. Plus drinking was always good, it let him forget for a little bit, made the fear go away a little. Punk ruffled his hair, the way he did and Dolph looked at him questioning, wondering why. "Take it easy, Blondie, 'kay?" he asked, eying him worriedly. Dolph shrugged at him and downed the remainder of his drink. "Whatevs." His voice was already a little more slurred. "So...this relationship, how long was it?" Cena was insistent. He had no idea what Cenas' issue was, and why he wanted to know, and he hated the fact he was prying into places he certainly didn't want to be pried. "Five years." He answered curtly, flagging for yet another drink; they'd probably stop serving him soon. Cena looked at him with a shocked expression. "Wow, Ziggler...never thought you'd be one to settle down...commitment and all that. Long time." He actually looked a little impressed and Dolph felt his stomach turn. "I know." He said shortly, wanting the subject to be dropped already. Punk gave him a small confused look but Dolph just scowled. "So...why'd it get broken off? Life on the road too much?" Cena seemed genuinely curious now, and that only lead him to be more uncomfortable. "I dunno...didn't work or something anymore...had enough." Dolph shrugged, really not wanting to breach this, tensing up, his hands shaking a little more. "Had enough? Of what?" this was just annoying now. Dolph shrugged his shoulders and downed his current drink. "I dunno...of him I guess." He muttered, unsure of why he was even answering. "Of him? That seems pretty harsh?" Another bitter laugh escaped Dolph's mouth and he tried to stifle it with another drink. "Not harsh. Not harsh at all. He was an a-hole." He snorted and tried to drop the topic, at least before he started to shake even worse or until panic got a little too much. Cena finally seemed satisfied and he left him alone, much to his relief, although the looks Punk was giving him make him more than slightly uneasy. So he resolved to get even drunker, letting the alcohol just take him away.

Punk helped him stumble back onto the bus, his own limbs not really wanting to work. He was probably being moved more by Punk than himself. He giggled softly and Punk helped him onto his couch, sitting down at the other end of it, eying him warily. Dolph sighed happily and stared at Punk, grinning a little. Punk laughed slightly, and he figured it had to be because of the goofy expression that was surely on his face. "Cena was right you know, five years is a pretty long time, I didn't expect that from you either." Punk brought up, killing the look on Dolph's face to something more reserved, and he tried to organise his limbs enough to move slightly, looking away from him as he grumbled at him. "What? Coz I like to fuck around with women it means I'm incapable of a long-term relationship?" he was pretty sure he said, although no doubt the words didn't come out quite right. "Why do you fuck around with women? If you like men then why women?" Dolph grumbled at him starting to get intrusive. "I'm drunk, you really wanna ask me shit now?" he rolled his eyes again, and Punk just nodded. "Yup, you're drunk so I'm asking you shit because then maybe you won't freak out on me." Dolph just grumbled at him again but then he chuckled slightly, his drunkenness seeing the logic in that. "Sleep with women because can't sleep with men." He yawned, moving to put his head on Punk's lap, grinning up at him again, snuggling into him a little. "Why? Because of your ex? Miss him?" Dolph laughed at him, at the thought. "Don't miss him, well sometimes, but no. Because of him though, yeah. Can't have sex with men, coz that hurts, I like men, but I'm not gonna have sex with them if it hurts." He looked at Punk like he was silly for not knowing that, because heck, it wasn't exactly a secret that Punk was gay, surely he knew that it hurt, well, if he was a bottom anyway, but he'd know either way, or at least he should. Punk looked at him puzzled. "Sex doesn't hurt, Dolph. It shouldn't, it feels good...for both people." Dolph shook his head, snuggling into him further but not believing him. "No it doesn't. It's not meant to feel good, it's supposed to hurt. Meant to teach you a lesson." He voice got quieter, almost whispering up at him, almost scared to talk about it. Punk stared at him, digesting his words and his hands started to thread through Dolph's hair gently. "...Is that what your ex did, Dolph? Hurt you on purpose?" Punk spoke quietly, not wanting to startle the man and wanting him to keep talking, opening up. Maybe that would mean he'd be able to help him. It was silent for a moment and he wondered if Dolph had retreated back into his shell. But then he felt Dolph nodding against him and he began shaking, for a second Punk thought he was having another panic attack, but it quickly became obvious it was just out of fear, not even able to say it out loud, even though there was no danger anymore. It was imprinted on his brain, hopefully not permanently, that talking about it would be bad, that keeping it secret was what was best, that it would anger _him_ less. "He liked to hurt me." He whispered quietly, shutting his eyes tightly, as if that would stop him from appearing. Punk held onto him tighter, one of his hands still moving through his hair soothingly. "Can't hurt you anymore, I'm here, I won't let anyone hurt you, you know that." He spoke softly, not wanting to startle him. Again he felt Dolph nod against him. Punk didn't push for anything more, still trying to digest what he'd already found out, and it explained a lot.

After a while Dolph fell into a fitful sleep, still snuggled up on Punk's lap, but he was still wide awake. He stared down at the man softly, actually feeling a little sorry for him, no wonder the dude seemed to have problems. He sighed and tried to shift him off him, but he got grumbles and he was held tighter, obviously the man didn't want him to go, even in sleep. He didn't really want to stay where he was so he awkwardly managed to get a hold of Dolph and he stood up, Dolph in his arms, awkwardly managing to get them back towards the bed area. Gently he set the younger man down on the bed, tucking him under the covers, instantly he snuggled into a pillow, mumbling something in his sleep, clearly displeased by Punk's replacement. After a moment of hesitation he wondered if he should join him in bed, clearly the other man hadn't wanted to part with him, but then, now knowing what he knew, he wondered what would happen in the morning, whether he would freak out finding himself in bed with another man. But seeing the man frown and start to whimper in his sleep his mind was made up, he slipped into bed and soon felt the warm arms of the blonde around him, clinging to him and seemingly starting to relax. Punk smiled softly and moved around to get comfortable, resisting the little whines of protest. His fingers found Dolph's hair again, a soothing and comforting action, wanting the man to sleep easier, and it seemed it was working. Dolph muttered something in his sleep, somehow still managing to sound a little drunk and buried his face against Punk's chest. Punk willed himself to relax and to sleep, but like most nights, it wasn't happening.

A couple of hours passed, Dolph clinging to the tattooed man who still couldn't sleep, he thought maybe it was because he wasn't used to sleeping with another person in his bed. The blonde man seemed pretty content in his sleep, muttering happily occasionally, but as the night ticked on, rather slowly for Punk, Dolph started to stir. Eventually his baby blue eyes open, locking onto Punk's face in confusion, wondering for a moment why he was in Punk's bed. "Hey." Punk said softly, being cautious, not wanting to spook him. "...Hey..." Dolph replied, squirming a little bit, the wide eyed stare he was getting from the man uneased him a little. "Do you want me to leave?" Dolph whispered softly. Punk shook his head, looking at Dolph "Nah, I don't mind, stay if you want, you're comfy." Punk still spoke softly, wanting him to feel okay about this, that he didn't have to leave if he didn't want to. Dolph nodded, seemingly relieved, he wanted to stay there, it was warm and nice, it was cozy, and he felt much safer than he thought was a good idea. Dolph shuffled a little bit away from him, creating some space, and Punk playfully pouted at him. "What? Do I smell or something?" he joked, actually sort of missing the warmth from the other man. Dolph rolled his eyes and shook his head, having moved away because he didn't want to invade the others space and he didn't want to anger him. "Seriously, when was the last time you had a shower?" Dolph joked with him, glad that this wasn't causing any problems and that this friendliness was continuing even when they were like this. A small fear was still in the back of his mind though, the little nagging that he shouldn't let his guard down, or that Punk was going to try something with him. Punk would hurt him, just like _he _did. This was just a way of making Dolph let him in. An act. This was all a lie, and that part of his mind was mentally preparing him for the time it was all exposed.


End file.
